Encyclopedia · Projectiles and ammunition

Hotchkiss solid shot

The Hotchkiss solid shot, or bolt, was the solid form of the Hotchkiss rifled projectile, using the same lead band and movable base but without a cavity or bursting charge.

Also known as: Hotchkiss bolt.

ClassSolid rifled projectile (Hotchkiss system)
CavityNone
Driving systemLead band expanded by the movable base
UseBattering and penetration

Solid Hotchkiss

The Hotchkiss solid shot, or bolt, kept the Hotchkiss driving system, the iron body and movable base cup pinching a soft lead band out into the rifling, but was cast solid for battering and penetration rather than bursting.

It belongs to a different functional class from the Hotchkiss shell even though the two share the design family, a distinction the taxonomy of projectiles keeps clear: a solid shot and a shell are different objects that happen to share a maker's system.

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